Secular institute

In the Roman Catholic Church, a secular institute is an organization of individuals who are consecrated persons – professing the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience – while living in the world, unlike members of a religious institute who live in community. It is one of the forms of consecrated life recognized in Church law (cf. the Code of Canon Law, can. 710–730).

Canon 710
A secular institute is an institute of consecrated life in which the Christian faithful living in the world strive for the perfection of charity and work for the sanctification of the world especially from within.

Secular institutes first received papal recognition from Pope Pius XII in Provida Mater Ecclesia (1947). Currently, up to 60,000 members belong to more than 20 secular institutes. As lay ecclesial movements, secular institutes are included in the Directory of International Associations of the Faithful, published by the Pontifical Council for the Laity. However, secular institutes may also have otherwise diocesan priests as members, and some are founded specifically for diocesan priests who wish to take vows and lead a consecrated life while still being incardinated in their diocese and working in the diocesan framework. Some Secular Institutes even train and incardinate their own priests, such as the Schoenstatt Fathers.

The Institute of the Maids of the Poor, O.F.M. Cap., is the first Roman Catholic secular institute in India.^[1]

See also

• Institutes of consecrated life
• Religious institutes
• Societies of apostolic life

References

External links

• Concerning Secular Institutes in the Code of Canon Law (1983), can. 710–730
• United States Conference of Secular Institutes
• Provida Mater Ecclesia at the Vatican website
• VocationMatch.com helps those discerning a Catholic religious vocation sort through options and find the path that may be right for them.

v t e Catholic lay spiritual organizations Lay movements (List)[citation needed] Apostolate for Family Consecration Catholic Worker Movement Communion and Liberation Community of Sant'Egidio Community of the Chemin Neuf Cursillo Focolare Movement Life Teen Neocatechumenal Way Regnum Christi Schoenstatt Movement Third Orders Lay Carmelites Secular Franciscan Order Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites Third Order of St. Francis Third Order of St. Dominic Confraternities Confraternity of Catholic Saints Confraternity of Christian Doctrine Confraternity of the Rosary Confraternity of Penitents Personal prelature Opus Dei[citation needed] International associations of the faithful with official recognition Apostolic Movement of Schoenstatt (Schoenstatt Movement) Chemin Neuf Community Couples for Christ Fraternity of Communion and Liberation International Federation of L’Arche Communities (L'Arche International) Legion of Mary Neocatechumenal Way Regnum Christi Apostolic Movement Sant'Egidio Community SIGNIS Work of Mary (Focolare Movement) World Organisation of the Cursillo Movement Worldwide Marriage Encounter Other associations of the faithful not listed above as movements Catholic Charismatic Renewal Fellowship of Catholic University Students Knights of Columbus Madonna House Catholicism Portal